The Shannara Chronicles – Changeling

After Amberle (Poppy Drayton) completes her quest inside the Ellcrys (which takes far less time than expected) and returns with the seed, the princess is attacked by a Changeling taking advantage of Eretria‘s (Ivana Baquero) presence after the Rover sneaks into the palace to seduce Wil (Austin Butler) and get her hands on the Elf Stones. Eventually the truth of the situation is worked out as the series sends the love triangle out into the world to save it from Armageddon. Given her experience within the tree Amberle is unnecessarily cool to Will, who finds a much warmer reception in his room as the episode plays with some very dumb romcom tropes in order to set the stage for the end of the episode and the quest moving forward.

The series continues to unfold much like a book in fits and starts jumping from large exposition, character development, action, and back again. The Changeling works as a serious threat (although its survival at the end doesn’t really make much sense) and, along with Will sleeping with the Rover, allows more animosity to fester between Amberle and Eretria. Allanon‘s (Manu Bennett) decision to quit the quest is perplexing given the fate of the entire world hangs on its outcome (which seems more important than protecting a few elves).